Beth Redpaw
by Keva Strongbow
Summary: A young badger leaves her home in the Northern Mountains for a life of adventure.
1. Chapter 1

**NORTHLANDS**

The stars twinkled brightly around a crescent moon, a dark contrast to the night sky. Beth Redpaw lay quietly under a large sycamore tree trying to fall asleep, but was finding it difficult as she tossed and turned, struggling to get comfortable in the humid air. She quickly rolled over onto her side and mumbled as a fly buzzed loudly by her ear.

Beth couldn't help but think about how comfortable the beds at home had been in the far away in the Black Mountains where she had come from. Her father, lord Nightwrath, was the ruler of the great mountain. Being his daughter, she had always had the utmost care and protection from his guards, leaving her hungry for adventure. So, with a lot of persuading she had finally convinced her father to let her go and travel the world, armed with nothing more than her long sword and a pair of red steel gauntlets.

She slapped at a mosquito that had landed on her nose. _Does every pesky bug have to make its bed on me?_ She grumbled inwardly.

Suddenly she heard a sound as a twig made a loud snapping noise. She sat up and grabbed her long, two-handed sword she had lying beside her. She could see a cloaked creature dimly in the darkness. It was quite small compared to her, and it seemed to be alone. Setting her weapon back down, she waited until the beast was busy diffing into her haversack, then leapt forward and grabbed it by the shoulders.

"Get you filthy paws outta there!" She called out gruffly, her paws clamped on the beast like steel. She flung the hood covering the creatures face off. He was a young male squirrel about sixteen seasons old. He stared back at her with terror filled in his wide eyes. "P-please don't kill me!"

Beth relaxed her hold on him momentarily as she got a good look at his face. He looked far more like he belonged out here in the wilderness that she did. A scrawny looking lad, dressed in a worn-out-looking blue tunic, with brown eyes that matched his fur. It seemed that he knew better than to try to struggle free. Instead, he went limp.

"What were you doing with my vittles?" She tightened her grip again on his shoulder.

"I…I was just going to take a little, honest! I haven't eaten in two days and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to fill up my poor, starving stomach."

Beth didn't doubt the thin squirrel's words, his face looked too frightened to tell a lie. "Did you ever think of asking?" She released her hold on him and gestured to a spot on the soft ground.

The squirrel looked at her warily before sitting down on the spot she had indicated. "You're not from around here are you?"

"That's none of your business." She snapped as she dug around in her bag and pulled out some cold scones. "Here," –She handed him two– "You can start off with these."

The young squirrel eagerly took the food and started to gobble it down.

Beth poured him a drink from her canteen. "So, what's your name?"

The squirrel wiped some of the crumbs from the corners of his mouth. "My name is Beckett. What's yours?"

"Beth Redpaw."

Beckett nodded curtly. "Hmm." And then went back to eating.

"So…" Beth put the drink back in her haversack. "You live around here? And you haven't eaten in two days?"

Beckett swallowed. "I'm uh, traveling you might say, going that way." He pointed east.

"Me too…" Beth's voice trailed off as a faraway look crept into her eyes.

"Hey, I just had a grand idea!" Beckett jerked her from her thoughts. "We should travel together!"

Beth narrowed her eyes. "And why would I do that?"

"Well…" Beckett scrunched his forehead. "I obviously would be an asset to you. I'm great at directions, I've been many places, and have great survival instincts!" he added proudly.

"Like stealing other creatures' food?" Beth raised an eyebrow, still slightly suspicious of the scrawny squirrel.

"Uh…well." Beckett cleared his throat. "I'm still alive aren't I?" Not waiting for her to comment, he continued. "It's safer to travel in pairs too."

_More like you need me to make sure you don't get eaten._ Beth thought humoredly. She had decided that in the short time that she had known him, she had already started to like him. _And _after being by herself as long as she had been, she would enjoy the company. Besides, it wasn't like he could do her any harm. She doubted that with his scrawny arms, he couldn't even begin to lift her double bladed sword.

"Alright," She said as she plucked a stray thread off her green tunic. "That's fine with me."

"It is?" Clearly Beckett hadn't expected her to agree so readily. "I mean…of course it is!"

Beth placed her haversack beside the patch of grass where she had been sleeping. "But there's going to have to be a few rules. First; you're not going to do anymore stealing."

Beckett was clearly skeptical at that, but she continued, "Second; we must both agree to look out for each other." She stressed out the last point.

"Is that it?" Beckett asked.

"For now." Beth slapped at another mosquito. "I'll let you know if I think of any others.

"Deal." Beckett nodded.

"Okay," Beth laid her head on a flat rock she had found, "Let's try and get some sleep. We'll leave first thing at dawn."

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At the first sight of dawn Beth had arisen, ready to start the day, not because she was in a hurry but because the night was so uncomfortable she barely got any sleep. She glanced at the still sleeping form of her new companion.

Beckett was curled up in small circle, his eye's shut and his paws folded across his chest. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

Digging into her haversack, Beth surveyed the meager remains. "We're not going to get very far on this," she mumbled to herself.

Beckett poked his head over her shoulder. "What did you say?"

"What the –" Beth exclaimed as she quickly snapped the flap back down. "Stop scaring me! Rule number three; don't come popping up out of nowhere!"

"You're more jumpy than I figured a badger would be," Beckett commented, ignoring the angry look on Beth's face. "Anyways, what's for breakfast?"

Beth paused, uncertain if she should tell her new friend just how much food was left. She decided to just show him.

"That's it!" The squirrel exclaimed. "That's not enough for a mouse to eat, let alone a squirrel and a badger! You know, you might have to get rid of that rule about no stealing if we're going to survive."

Beth sighed, she knew he was right. "We'll just have to eat sparingly until we come across some berry bushes or a stream that we can fish in."

Reaching out a paw, Beckett took a cold scone that Beth passed him.

"We can start off with one each for breakfast." Beth chomped down, devouring a fourth of her scone with one bite.

After their cold breakfast, the two set off in the direction the sun rose; east. A bright orange and black oriel flew into its nest, carrying a worm for its young. Life in the wilderness was alive and well. They travelled for a couple of hours before they paused in the shade.

"Whew!" Becket collapsed himself on an old fallen log. "It's so hot."

Beth wiped her brow. "Must be the hottest day of the summer."

"Hey!" Becket jumped up, ears pricked. "Do you hear that?"

Beth strained her ears and a cold fear crept through her spine as she prepared herself for the slightest hint of danger. She clenched her red gauntlets as she started to reach for her sword. However, she stopped as she heard the quiet trickling sound. _**"**_Water!"

"Yes! It's coming from over there!" Becket pointed a paw. "It can't be too far away."

Eagerly, the young squirrel tumbled off his log and ran in the direction of where he thought the stream to be.

"Wait for me!" Beth came after him, following his trail clumsily, not being as nimble as the squirrel. She stumbled on gnarled tree stump hidden by leaves. "Oof!"

"Come on! It's over here!" Beckett called excitedly.

There it was, a small river, flowing speedily along. The sun's rays reflecting off it, making it almost blinding.

"What are you waiting for?" Beckett flung himself into the shallow water. "Brrr!"

Beth could almost feel the cold water splashing on her hot skin. "Charge!" She started at a full run.

"No wait!" Beckett tried clamoring away from the female badger as she jumped in, making the water explode in all directions.

Beckett looked a comical sight, his fur plastered in every direction over his face. "What are you tryin' to do? Drown me!?"

Beth couldn't help but laugh at his appearance. "What's the matter, can't you swim?"

"No, as a matter of fact, I can't." The squirrel wiped the wet fur out of his eyes. "And I'm not about to learn either." He replied grumpily. "I'd rather dance with a snake than get in water that's over my head!"

There was a small silence until Beth felt her stomach growl with hunger. "Hey, I've got an incredibly, amazing idea!"

"What is it?" Beckett asked, confused.

"I think I know how we can get some food…"

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The badger and squirrel sat on a large flat stone right next to the river, Beckett's tail tip hanging slightly in the water.

"This is a stupid idea." Beckett protested loudly.

"Now," Beth said as she pulled out her long sword, "all we have to do is wait for a fish to come and bite your tail, thinking that it's food. Once that happens, I'll hop down, kill it, and then we'll have dinner!"

"How come it has to be _my _tail that's the bait?"

"Because," Beth looked at her reflection in her sword, "your tail is longer and looks more like fish food than mine does. Besides, I'll have to kill the fish and that's really the most dangerous part."

"Are…are you sure?" Beckett gulped, looking suspiciously at the water behind him.

"Of course!" Beth insisted, "We have to be quiet now though, or nothing will ever bite."

Beckett kept throwing uncertain glances toward the river as they waited. "Have you ever done this before?"

"Um…well no," Beth stood ready at position. "But I've heard stories about it."

They didn't have to wait long before a small fish nabbed at the squirrel's tail tip. "Ouch! Something bit me!"

Quickly, Beth jumped into the water and struck out with her sword.

"Watch where you're swinging that thing!" Beckett quickly grabbed his tail and stroked it lovingly.

"Blasted!" Beth hacked around in the water. "It got away."

"You–you mean I did all that for nothing!" The squirrel exclaimed, astonished. "How could it have gotten away?"

"Better put your tail back in again." Beth gave a tired sigh as she climbed back into position. "We'll just have to try again… I'll be faster next time." She reassured him.

The sun had already started to sink as the two sat listening together to the quiet sounds of the river. Just as they were about to give up on the whole ordeal altogether, their luck took a turn for the better.

"Yowch!"

Beth didn't need to hear an invitation. Moving with lightning speed, she brought down her sword with precise precision upon her prey, killing it instantly.

"We did it!" Beckett jumped up and down on the rock joyfully. "We actually got one!"

Beth carried their dinner proudly out of the water. It was much larger than the one they had missed before. She nodded. "We'll eat well tonight."

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Sparks flickered up from the fire as Beth and Beckett ate hungrily with satisfaction.

"Mmm." Beckett padded his small belly. "I haven't eaten that good in a long time," he said as the two beasts cleaned their dishes and made camp for the night.

Beth had to agree. It felt good to be full and to feel the energy running back through her paws. "So...do you have a family?" she asked as a lone owl filled the serene silence around them with its call.

The young squirrel looked down at the ground. "I used to. My father, mother, and a sister." His face turned solemn and his eyes started to grow moist. "We were travelling across a wide river when our raft hit a large rock and shattered into a hundred pieces. None of us knew how to swim…" He lifted a paw to brush a tear that had escaped his eye. "Everything went black after that. I must've hit my head on a rock or something. Next thing I knew, I had been washed up on shore on one of the pieces of our raft…"

Beth felt a lump come up in her throat as she sat listening to Beckett, his voice filled with a remorseful pain. "I…I'm so sorry…" she whispered.

Beckett sniffed. "I found their bodies further on down the stream. I had to bury them there." His shoulder's now were shaking as he wept with uncontrollable sobs.

Beth moved closer and put her large paw around his shoulder comfortingly. The young squirrel leaned in to her and let his tears flow. When he had cried till he was exhausted, he took a deep breath and sat back up. "You're the first beast I've told since their death." He rubbed a paw across his nose.

There was a large wet spot on Beth's tunic from Beckett's tears, but the badger didn't even notice. "You won't be without a family anymore."

Beckett looked slightly confused for a moment.

"I'll be your family." Beth nodded.

Crickets chirped all around them as they each went to their separate patches of grass and lied down, each alone with their own thoughts. Beth prepared herself for another restless night as she glanced over at the small squirrel who shivered in his sleep against the settling dew.

She gently took her own blanket and laid it on her new companion who snuggled beneath it. She glanced down at Beckett. "Don't worry little friend…I'll watch out for you now."

**Author note/ Hey Redwall readers! So this story is interlinked with **_**The Grey Warlord, **_**by Sebias of Redwall, but this is a stand-alone. This fanfic is more like a long one-shot. It will probably be around 7 chapters long. If u want to read more about Beth Redpaw, she's actually Sebias' original character and she makes a brief appearance in **_**The Grey Warlord**_**. Anyways, I hope u all liked this chapter!:)**


	2. Chapter 2

**NORTHLANDS**

Two days had passed since the travelling badger and squirrel had stopped to catch their fish at the river.

They had passed through a small mouse village and we're now continuing on. It was high-noon and they were now marching on through a thick, lush forest, enjoying whatever shade that the trees permitted.

Beth misjudged a low limb that Beckett had easily padded under with no problem, and squarely hit the top half of her forehead on it.

"Oof! Confounded tree! Why did you have to get in my way for?!" Beth yelled out in anger and struck at the branch with her fist.

"What happened?" Beckett looked back, alarmed. "Did you hear something?"

"Ow!" Beth shook her paw sideways in the air, as if she could shake the sharp pain away. "Nothing," she grumbled. "Doesn't it feel like we've been wandering in circles?" She chained the subject quickly, sighing with exasperation.

Beckett tightened his lips. "Well now that you mention it, that moss on that tree does look vaguely familiar."

"Arghhh…!" She rubbed at her sore paw. "We've been in this forest for hours!"

Beckett glanced around suspiciously through the trees. "Something doesn't feel right… I feel like I'm being watched." He shuddered.

Beth followed Beckett's gaze. "I don't see anything." She commented loudly, as if to dare some beast to come out from hiding.

Beckett looked back reluctantly from the trees. "I don't know… I thought I heard something."

"It must just be this endless tramping around in here without any sunlight getting to your head."

The young squirrel looked up. "I think I'll try climbing one of these trees to see if I can get a better view on how much further we have to go."

Beth shifted her haversack to her other shoulder. "Might as well give it a try. Maybe look around for any walnut trees while you're up there. We can always use more vittles."

"I'll keep an eye out." Quick and swiftly Beckett disappeared up the tree.

_Well he's certainly an agile little fella, I'll give him that._ Beth mused inwardly. _Hmm…maybe I'll try and look around for some berries while he's sight-seeing._

While Beckett was away, Beth had the lucky fortune of finding some wild blackberries hidden in the shrubbery. It was quite the ordeal for the large badger to reach through as she picked them, but finally, after a good while, she had collected all she was be able to reach. _Won't Beckett be surprised when he sees these! I hope he hasn't been waiting too long. It took longer than I expected._

When Beth reached back under the large tree that Beckett had first climbed up, she was surprised to see that he was still not there. "Beckett?" she called slowly. Feeling chills run down her spine, she yelled more loudly. "Beckett!"

She floundered her way slowly in the direction that Beckett had disappeared. _He must've found a bunch of walnuts somewhere and is starting to gather them already, _she assured herself. But as she continued on with no sight of him, her thoughts became more and more worrisome. _Where could he have gone! I'm supposed to be taking care of him._

"Beckett!" She yowled at the top of her lungs. "Beckett, can you hear me?"

_What if he fell out of a tree and broke his leg or somewhere? _The terrain was now taking on a more rocky landscape, and the trees looming around made the process of searching slower than before. _I've got to find him!_

Suddenly she heard a loud scream from further on ahead. _Beckett! _Her paws seemed to turn cold. "I'm coming Beckett! Just hang on!" Beth thrashed through the trees, cutting her paw on a sharp rock in her carelessness.

Finally, she rounded a tree and sighted him. He was held by his paws and footpaws by two rats. The pair of vermin were swinging him menacingly back and forth, while three others watched, cackling and chuckling at the squirrel's plight.

"This is what you get for stealing my dagger, you dirty toad-face!" A rat poked Beckett sharply with the blunt end of his staff. In its other paw he held what Beth assumed to be the stolen dagger. It was a finely crafted weapon, with a double edged blade. It had an ivory handle and what appeared to be a pearl at the end of the pommel.

"I'm sorry! I wish that I never touched your stinky weapon in the first place!" The wiry squirrel tried to struggle free from his captors' grasp, but to no avail. "Heeeeelp!"

Beth, blinded with fury at her friend's treatment, ran toward the vermin, drawing out her massive, double-bladed sword, while yelling, "Let him go!"

The vermin seemed to freeze momentarily in shock at the charging badger, but then they recovered their wits and they began to flee, two of the rats still holding on to Beckett.

"You cowards, –" Beth suddenly stopped mid-yell. She felt the ground give way beneath her paws and she fell, grabbing out helplessly at the dirt walls. Beth landed with a thud at the bottom. She blanked for a second as her body met harshly with the cold ground. She winced with pain and looked up. It was now obvious that it wasn't a coincidence that she had fallen into the well-concealed hole. The vermin must have been cleverer then she thought.

"Hee hee hee!" One of the rats cackled from where he stood above Beth. "You didn't think we'd let a prize badger slip through our paws did ya?" He called down mockingly.

"We haven't been following you all this way for nothing!" One jeered. "We'z smart!"

"Shut up!" The largest rat hit him on the head.

Beth grunted, trying to regain the breath. The wind had been knocked out of her from the fall. She could feel a large gash on her arm that she had got from a sharp rock.

"Throw that no good thief down in the pit with her while we think of a plan," a vermin's voice snarled.

Looking up, Beth heard and felt more than saw Beckett's scrawny body came dropping down. He landed on her back, and she gave a loud groan of pain.

Just then, she heard a whizzing sound from somewhere above them. It was followed by a thudding noise and a short muffled sound of anguish from one of the rats. Two more whizzing sounds quickly followed, along with two more thuds and screams of pain.

Beth squinted, and slowly blinked. _What is going on up there?_

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A small, cloaked figure had been walking through the thick woods when he heard Beth's cry for help when she had fallen into the pit. The beast's ears had twitched as he had strung his bow that was slung over his back. Moving forward like a shadow, he finally caught sight of the band of vermin holding a struggling squirrel and shouting down at somebeast in a pit. The cloaked creature pieced together what was happening when a pair of the vermin picked up the squirrel and threw him into the hole as well.

"Dirty robbers," the beast mumbled under his breath as drew as small sword from his belt and set it down on a rock beside him. Then, he notched an arrow to his bowstring, "I'll teach them to mess with innocent travelers."

He hit one of the rats, causing him to drop to the ground immediately. Before his companions could react, he had shot two more arrows and was reaching for a third.

"Run!" one of the surviving rats yelled. But it was too late. An arrow thwacked into his back, hitting his spinal cord and killing him instantly.

The cloaked creature charged out of his hiding place at the remaining rat, armed with his sword. Their weapons crashed into each other briefly, but it was only a few seconds before there was quiet moan and the last vermin fell over, dead.

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"H-Help!" Beckett's voice called from the pit once the sounds of the fighting had stopped. "Help us, please!"

Beth cupped her hands around her mouth as she also yelled. "We're stuck down here!"

They heard a small scuffling noise and then all was silent.

"Do…do you think it left?" Beckett asked, wringing his paws.

_We've got to get out of here!_ Beth started to panic. She jumped up and grabbed at a rock that was jutting from the dirt wall. She fell, tumbling backwards as the stone unearthed itself and thudded beside her on the ground.

"Oof!"

Suddenly, a thick, rope-like vine came coiling down from the top of the pit. Beth stared at Beckett. Shrugging, the scrawny squirrel took hold of it. "What have we got to lose?" He shrugged and then began climbing up.

She was about to object, when she realized that he was right, she watched him climb nimbly up the vine and disappear as he crawled out of the hole.

_Whew, _Beth sighed before grabbing the vine in her own paws. _Here goes nothing._ Well aware of the deep cut on her arm, she began the climb carefully. Her muscles tensed, she slowly put one paw after the other until she reached the top and then was helped out by Beckett.

"I almost thought I wasn't going to make that," she said to him. Scrambling up, she stopped, surprised at what she saw.

All of the rats had been killed. Almost all of them had arrows jutting out of them, but one looked like he had been slain with a blade. Standing in the middle of them all, was a vole.

He looked like an elderly creature. Dressed in a dark brown tunic and wearing a long green cloak, a bow in his one hand, and a case of arrows slung neatly over his back. At his side was a darkly colored belt with a fitted sword in it. He was roughly around fifty seasons old and had a confident look about him. He stood there, staring at them quizzically.

"Thank you…" Beth began, not knowing how to start. "Those vermin had my friend you see, and –"

The vole held up a paw, motioning her to stop. "That's all right, no need to go into all that now." His voice was calm and kind as he tilted his head and looked at the gash on Beth's arm. "Looks like a nasty cut. Follow me and I'll take care of it for you."

He turned, not waiting for them to answer and began walking west, away from the pit.

Beth and Beckett looked at each other, shrugged, and then quickly followed the elderly vole.

_We might as well do as he says. After all, he did save our lives, _Beth thought, the pain in her arm increasing so that she had to grind her teeth._ We certainly are indebted to him. I wonder where he's taking us._

"Um…excuse me, but I don't think we introduced ourselves," Beth started, a little hesitant as they continued following the vole. "I'm Beth Redpaw and this is my friend Beckett."

"Nice to meet you." He didn't even bother to look back at the badger. "You may call me Akash."

Beth was fascinated by the small vole's attitude. _He's one of the only creatures I've actually feel small around! _She mused inwardly. _There is something about the way he carries himself that suggests that he knows what he's doing. This isn't a beast who you'd want on your bad side. _

After travelling for a good while, they came to the place where Akash lived. It was a nice, medium-sized, wooden cottage. A small, plowed field could be seen, next to a large shed that Beth assumed was where Akash kept his food stored during the winter. There was a large pile of logs leaning next to the house, along with an axe. Barely a stone's throw away from the cottage was a small, trickling river.

Akash opened the red door into his cottage. Beth bent her head low as she entered in. She was relieved that the ceiling was quite a bit higher than the doorframe.

"Sit down over there." Akash pointed to a wooden bed and then began grabbing some worn out looking clothes from a cupboard.

Beckett immediately plopped down on the corner of the bed, and Beth hesitantly sat down beside him, careful not to break the bed with her weight.

"Your name is Beckett, am I right?" He handed a bowl and ladle to the skinny squirrel, who nodded mutely. Akash gave a nod. "Put these on the table please."

Grabbing some herbs and a bottle of vinegar, he placed them beside the bowl that he had given to Beckett. He turned back to Beth. "Now, let me have a good look at that cut."

Beth winced as the vole put his small, calloused paws next to the wound and held up her arm for further inspection.

"Hmm…just as I thought." He went back to the table and made a paste with his ingredients.

"Would you tear those cloths into small strips, Beckett? I'm afraid I don't have any bandages big enough for a badger, but these will do just as well."

Beth wiped some of the dirt off of her tunic. "We'll never be able to repay you for everything you've done…"

Akash didn't even look up from his work, but began soaking the ripped strips in the bowl, letting them soak up the moisture from the mixture of medicine.

"If there's anything we can do for you, we would be happy to try and repay you in some way… Anything at all."

The elderly vole passed a bandage to Beckett and began wrapping Beth's paw. "Well…now that you mention it, I do have some things that I need done around here. I'm not as young as I once was, and some extra paws would certainly be welcomed."

Beckett passed Akash the other linen strip as the vole beckoned for it. "Besides, you two look like you could use some fattening up." He grinned.

"We'd be happy to stay as long as you need us." Beth grimaced, trying not to let the pain her arm was in to show. She met Akash's intense stare as she looked up.

"You are restless, Beth. But I sense a warrior in you." His voice was solemn and serious. "You only need to cultivate and discover what is already inside you, otherwise you will stay searching your whole life and never find what you're looking for."

Beth's eyes widened as she felt as if the vole's gaze was staring right through her. She stiffened, too stunned to say a word. _How does he know that I'm searching to find my place in the world? That was my reason for leaving home in the first place._

Finishing up, Akash changed the subject light-heartedly as he moved toward his kitchen. "What do you two say to some grub?"

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**Author note/ So here's chapter 2! Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you are enjoying the story so far! I'd like to say a special thanks to Waycaster, Sebias of Redwall, and Emma Lillyhawk for favoriting and following. I'd also like to thank both of my reviewers, The Grey Coincidence and Waycaster. Thank you all so much! **


	3. Chapter 3

**AKASH'S HOME**

"Alright, you sleepyheads, rise and shine!" Akash carried a candle into the barn where they had decided that they would sleep the other day. It was a lot more spacious in there and had fewer things for Beth to break. Only yesterday, Akash had given her and Beckett each a small bowl of warm vegetable soup for dinner. After she finished eating, Beth had clumsily knocked over a tiny, glass, flowery-printed bowl off the table, where it fell on the floor and shattered into pieces.

Beth blinked groggily as she woke up. She had only finally got to sleep last night after much tossing and turning, even then her sleep had been broken with dreams of her father and friends back at the mountains.

"It's still dark outside!" Beckett exclaimed, rubbing his bloodshot, tired eyes.

Beth gazed tiredly out the window. She could still see the stars shining faintly.

"Well of course it's dark outside, my young squirrel, tis before dawn!" The vole seemed quite awake and alert as he moved around, grabbing an axe from the corner of the shed. "'Wake early and you'll have bread a plenty,' as the saying goes."

"I've never heard of that motto before." Beckett grumbled suspiciously as he slowly got out of bed.

Akash chuckled. "Of course you haven't, I just made it up."

Beth yawned and then quickly jerked awake fully as she looked on the floor by the foot of where she had slept. _Phew, _she breathed, relieved. Her sword was still there. It was a well-made weapon, and one that she was used to. Besides her red gauntlets, it was her favorite weapon of choice.

"I've got some biscuits waiting for us in the house. Just took 'em out of the oven before I came over here." The vole carried the candle in one paw and the axe in the other. "We can eat first and then I'll show you both how the two of you can help me."

Beth didn't miss the slight half smile that Akash quickly dismissed as he headed out the door over to the house.

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"You want _me _to cut all this wood?"

Beckett was incredulous. For such a scrawny squirrel such as himself, the task seemed nearly impossible.

Akash just nodded curtly and handed him the axe. "Just stack 'em up over there beside the house."

Beth couldn't help but chuckle inwardly as Beckett's jaw dropped open in shock. Akash seemed to not even notice the squirrel as he instead turned and started walking toward the stream that ran by the house. Beth followed him.

"Water is amazing isn't it?" Akash told her rather than asked, once they reached the stream's edge. "It's so smooth and clear, almost like the wind. Yet when used in a current, it can so devastating that anything that stands in its path will be destroyed."

Beth tilted her head sideways. "Huh, I never thought of it like that before."

Akash blinked slowly, watching the morning sun's rays reflect off the water. He then began wading into a deeper part of the creek. "You should stand around here." He motioned her over. "Now, just watch the water closely, feel the coolness rush against your fur." Intently he gazed down, his sight on something moving in the water.

The badger felt cool droplets of water spray her in the face as Akash swiftly dipped a paw in a scooping motion, and flung a small, silver-looking fish onto the shore. It flopped around, trying to return back to the water.

"Wow…" Beth was in awe. "You were so fast!"

Akash crawled back on shore and let the fish go back in the stream. "It's a lucky day for you, my fish friend." He spoke softly to it. He turned back to Beth. "The trick is to wait until just the right moment. Don't let your shadow fall on the fish, and when you reach down to grab it, aim at where you think it will dive, not to where it is currently. Now, you try."

The badger gulped. How hard could it be? If an old vole could do it, she could.

Time ticked by slowly as she waited, determined to prove herself to Akash. _Huh, of course it would be just his luck to get a fish right away. It practically swam into his paws!_

"E-hem," The vole cleared his throat.

Beth was starting to get a tad annoyed at how Akash was just standing there, watching her like she was a cub.

"You're leaning too far over. If you want a fish to come, you have to watch with your eyes. Relax a bit. You're tense. Loosen the grip on your paws."

Beth did as she was told. She let out a deep breath. Not long afterwards, to her surprise, a slippery fish came into view. It was swimming in her direction. Paws tingling, she waited. "Ah-ha!" She tried to copy the movements that Akash had shown her with her uninjured paw, but only ended up grabbing a pawful of water instead.

"Not bad." Akash looked thoughtful. "You're too sporadic, though. Try and move like the current: swift, but strong."

Being the daughter of a mountain lord and also being a badger, Beth wasn't used to taking orders, let alone commands from a creature the ten times smaller than her. But what he had said before had worked. And besides, there was something about his calm demeanor that fascinated her. She gritted her teeth and strained her eyes again for any movement in the water.

"I must go now," The elderly vole shook his wet footpaws on the shore. "We're going to need lots of fish if we're going to have any supper." He winked and walked off.

_I'll show him._ Beth determined. _He'll have so many fish for supper he won't be able to walk for a week!_

Hours passed by, and still, Beth had not caught a single fish. "These stupid paws of mine…" she grumbled and lashed out at the water in frustration.

"How's everything going over here?"

Beth waded over to the bank where Beckett had arrived with some berries and nuts. "Akash said that you must be starving. You've been out here most of the day!"

"Well I'd like to see you catch some fish with your bare paws." She took the food from him gratefully. "What about you? All the wood chopped up?"

Beckett rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… Well, about that."

Beth raised an eyebrow. "He's a tough little vole, isn't he?"

The scrawny squirrel nodded vehemently. "You know, I was thinking… Why don't we just sorta take our leave of this place? I've done a _lot_ of chopping. I think we've done enough for Akash. He probably wouldn't even notice we were gone!"

The thought did sound tempting. After all, she had left the mountains for adventure and to explore, not to get more orders from some vole she barely knew! But still, she hesitated. "He saved our lives, Beckett. It's the least we can do." That was true but it wasn't the real reason for her reluctance to leave. _Akash sees something in me…and I want to know what it is._

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They had been with the vole for two full days, doing whatever he had needed. For the most part, that consisted of Becket finding and chopping more wood, and Beth trying to learn the art of catching fish. She had to admit, she felt like she was starting to get the hang of it. The badger's first day of trying had been very unsuccessful. She had only caught one fish for their meager dinner. Luckily, Akash had provided them with other vittles, so they didn't have to sleep hungry. But today, she had already caught three fish and it was still before noon. The evening after, Akash had taken her and Beckett up a small hill where some trees had fallen. They had carried many big logs back, much to Beckett's dismay. His duty was to make sure they were chopped up into firewood sized pieces.

Beth flexed her dark claws and relaxed them. She could feel that already, she had better control of them. Her injury on her left paw had healed already, so she had been practicing with both. The badger had finally started to master the smooth, dipping motion Akash had used the first time he had showed her to fish. It was far from perfect, but at least it was better than before.

"Some fine catches there."

Beth jumped, startled by the vole's sudden appearance from seemingly out of nowhere. He had his bow and arrows slung neatly over his back, and a satchel which, Beth assumed from the smell, to be filled with scones.

"You've caught enough for now." The vole brushed a fly away from the bag. "I'm going to the village. I thought you and Beckett would like to come along. He's already waiting by the house."

"Sure!" The badger shook her paws dry once on land.

"Good." Akash nodded. "I'm supposed to meet with some friends of mine there. They normally give me some potatoes and food from the garden, and in exchange, I like to bring them some scones." He held the bag up as he finished the last sentence.

The two of them walked over to the cabin where Beckett was standing, surveying the pile of freshly split logs. "Have you ever seen such a neatly stack of logs in all your years?" he said as they stood beside him.

Beth raised an eyebrow and wondered just how much of the sun had been getting to the young squirrel's head. From her eyes, the stack looked just like an average bunch of logs that a badger could've chopped in only a few hours or so, but to Beckett, the stack looked magnificent.

Akash gave a short chuckle before saying, "Alright then, follow me. The village isn't too far away."

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**Author note/ Hope you all liked this chapter! Thank you all for the views and reviews!**


	4. Chapter 4

**THE VILLAGE**

"How ya doing there, you little rascals?" Akash called, approaching a trio of small otter pups that had intent on playing their game of sticks and marbles until they heard the vole's familiar voice.

"Mister Akash!" They squealed delightedly, dropping their sticks and running to greet him.

"What did you bring us this time?"

"Who are the two beasts that you brought?"

"Ooh! Did you bring us a badger to play with? She's huge!"

Akash, Beckett, and Beth had come close to the center of the small village, which apparently was mostly made up of otters, although they also saw some voles and mice in the area as well. Akash seemed quite popular in the happy settlement, because once many of the woodlanders saw the new-comers, they called out greetings.

A few of the older beasts would yell out unimportant facts to the old vole about the weather, along with the usual curious, awe-struck stares that would follow once they caught sight of a large badger in tow. The three beasts had now stopped at a quaint hut which belongs to a family that Akash had known for seasons. The vole had been telling the badger and squirrel about them on the way over.

Beckett waved a friendly paw as if to show the three young otter babes that he also existed. "Howdy, little ones!" he said cheerfully. He was completely ignored by the trio as they caught sight (and smelt) of what Akash was carrying in his paws.

The youngest otter, a female, scrambled hurriedly over, trying to make it past her two brothers. "What's in the bag?" Her eyes opened wide, almost until they were the size of miniature saucers.

"I'll tell you what," Akash's eyes gleamed playfully, "Whoever guesses what's in the bag, I'll let them carry the satchel to your mother."

"I bet its flour for mother to bake with!" The tallest of the older three guessed.

"Well you're not entirely wrong, Harry." Akash stroked his chin, nodding wisely. "I _did _use flour to bake it."

"Is it bread?" The other brother asked.

"Ooh! Very close, Leo, but again, no."

Beth looked down quickly, taken by surprise as she felt small paws tug at the fur by her footpaws.

The young ottermaid stretched her arms up, opening and closed her fists. "Up."

The badger froze as her mind went back to her early childhood days when she used to do the exact same thing to her father, Lord Nightwrath. A pang of sadness trickled through her as the memory faded, and she looked back down at the small otter, who was still staring at her with her small arms outstretched. Beth bent down and gently scooped her up. To the badger, she weighed as light as a feather.

"I like you." The otter nodded, as if in approval, looking intently at Beth.

"Ee, I uh…" Beth mumbled, slightly awkward at the young otter's words. "I like you too," she said finally.

Akash grinned and looked up at small female otter perched on Beth's shoulders. "And what do _you_ think I've got in the bag, Poppy? It's your turn to guess."

Poppy took a deep breath and scrunched her face up. Suddenly, her expression lit up as she thought of a guess. "Scones!"

"Correct!" Akash handed the satchel to Beth, who handed it up to Poppy's. Smiling, the vole continued, "Now, why don't we go on inside and give them to your mama, eh?"

Poppy crawled off of Beth and landed on the ground with an "oof", then she ran ahead excitedly as arrived at the hut. "We've got scones, mommy!"

After the other filed in, Beth stooped down and turned sideways to pass through the door. _Places like this weren't exactly designed for a badger, _she thought.

A slender otter was washing dishes with an orange apron around her waist. She smiled as they entered. "Oh. Akash, How nice of you to stop by."

"The pleasure is all mine, Chloe." The vole blinked slowly. Then, stepping back, he introduced Beth and Beckett to her.

"Well I'm glad to see Akash has you two to help him." The otter said after they had finished their introductions. Cleaning the last dish, Chloe set it down and dried her paws with a towel. "He really works far too hard."

Beckett coughed loudly at that. Beth turned to look at him just in time to see the squirrel roll his eyes at the otter's last statement. Beth couldn't help but give a small grin. Thankfully, Akash didn't seem to notice.

"The children just picked some fresh vegetables this morning from the garden." Chloe continued, "We have more potatoes than we can ever eat by ourselves. Take as many as you like. They're in the box under the table," Chloe said, gesturing toward the large wooden table in the center of the room. "Thomas will be so disappointed he missed you. He's gone to help the neighbor with his shed. I'm afraid he won't be back 'till suppertime."

Harry and Leo began filling a satchel with potatoes for the three visitors to take back with them.

"Well, be sure to tell him hello for us." Akash smiled as he added, "Tell him not to work too hard or anything. Anyway, we'd better be on our way if we want to get back in time to fix our own vittles."

"You're all quite welcome to stay and eat with us." Chloe offered. "I've already started making some vegetable soup."

Beth glanced at the small pot on the stove. _I could probably eat all of that by myself… _

"That's mighty thoughtful of you." Akash took the bag the otter brothers handed him. "But we have to be back before dark anyways."

The old vole handed the satchel to Beckett and then started toward the door. "Thank you again, Chloe. Maybe sometime I'll be able to take you up on that offer for dinner."

"We'd enjoy that." Chloe smiled as she wiped the dirt from Poppy's paws. "Oh, by the way," – The otter quickly moved to grab two small bags hanging beside the doorframe – "Would you mind bringing these to Colette on you way back? I know she'd appreciate it if you stopped over, and you'll be going right by her cottage.

"Who's Colette?" Becket asked.

"Oh, she's a sweet elderly vole that lived not far from," Chloe explained. "She moved here no too long ago, and doesn't get to see visitors very often. Akash has met her before, if I recall correctly. Isn't that right, Akash?" her eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Now, now, Chloe, whatever nonsense you're thinking about you can forget," Akash waved a paw dismissively, though the others could see that his cheeks had turned to a faint pink with embarrassment. "Me and Colette are just friends, nothing more." He coughed as he decided to try changing the subject once again. "Ahem, well. We'll be sure to stop by and bring her these for you. Anything else I can do to help."

Chloe shook her head. "Nope, that's all. Thank you."

The exited the hut, quickly followed by the trio of otter children. The young ones stayed stayed by the door as they called out their farewells.

"Bye-bye, Badger!" Poppy cried, waving her tiny paw.

"Come again!" Leo chirped. "It was nice to see ya!"

"Yeah!" Harry added, "Bring the squirrel and badger back with you! I like 'em."

Akash, Beth, and Beckett turned and gave one more wave before they continued, leaving the village behind them.

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It wasn't a very long walk before they passed over a wooded hill and a pretty little house came into view. Once they got closer, Beth swept her gaze across it, taking in all of the details. The house was surrounded by a white picket fence, with tiny, yellow flowers blooming in pots set underneath the windows. As they approached closer to the building, they suddenly stopped as they heard a terrified scream split the pain, followed by the sound of something shattering.

"Be quiet you old prune!" a deep growl rang out from the house. "Or I'll make sure you never say a word again!"

There was the sound of a beast whimpering out an apology, then all was silent.

"What the heck was that?" Beth asked, her eyes wide. Her paw instinctively went for his broadsword. "It sounds like that beast you and Chloe were talking about is in trouble!"

Akash held a paw to his lips in a gesture for silence. "You two stay here," he whispered, pulling out one of his arrows and notching it onto his bow string. "I'm going to circle around to the back door. I'll signal if I need you."

Beckett was wringing his paws as he threw anxious glances toward the house. "What's the signal?"

The old vole gave him a half-amused look as he replied, "A yell that's bound to shatter glass and make your ears bleed. Just make sure that you don't take too long."

"We'll be ready." Beth nodded.

Akash smiled and patted her arm. "I know you will." With that, the old vole ducked low, using cover from whatever he could, until he reached the back wall of the cottage and disappeared from their view. Beckett almost jumped out of and onto Beth when they heard another shout ring out from the house.

"Now 'urry up!" the voice yelled, "Get us some vittles, before I decide to eat you instead!"

Beth could only imagine the old lady vole scampering around her kitchen, ready to do anything to appease her captors. It was all the badger could do to keep herself still and not charging in after Akash.

"Get movin you–" the creature broke off suddenly. "Hey, who's that vole, mates? Somebeast grab 'im – Aaaargh!"

There was the sound of one of Akash's arrows whizzed through the air, followed by the sound of somebeast crashing into something. They heard another arrow thudding into its target. A flurry of beaks and black feathers came crashing through the front door as a pair of birds stumbled their way out.

Beth tensed, wondering if she should attack the floundering crows. They hadn't heard Akash's signal yet. Beckett ducked his head lower and mumbled under his breath.

The two crows had their wings spread out, trying to untangle themselves from each other as they collapsed together in a heap. The first to gain his footing didn't bother to look back, but instead flew into the air as fast as he could. The other crow hadn't been as fortunate. Before he could follow suit, Akash had charged from the hut and slashed its wing with his dagger.

Beth couldn't wait and longer. She leapt up and began running at the crow, brandishing her sword in the air. "Raaaaaaargh, get away, you filthy birds!"

The sight of the badger charging toward him, coming to aid his attacker caused the bird to panic. In a last hope for freedom, it lashed back with its unhurt wing, hitting Akash and knocking the shrew off his paws.

"Kraaah! You'll pay for this, vole!" it called, flying off. "If it's the last thing I do, I'll make sure you pay!"

Beth leapt, trying to grab for its leg but missed. She stared after it for a moment, knowing that further pursuit was pointless. There was no way she could follow a bird. Beth quickly turned to help Akash to his paws. "Are you okay?" she asked.

The vole coughed as he struggled to regain his breath.

Beckett rushed up and supported the vole with his shoulder. "You two almost took ten seasons of my life!"

Just then, an elderly vole rushed out of hut. She was wearing a light pink tunic and her kind blue eyes shone with worry.

"Akash! You saved me!" the vole – who Beth assumed to be Colette – cried out and came running over, "Are you alright?!"

Akash gently stood up and dusted himself off. "I'm as fit as a lark, really, there is no need to worry," he persisted earnestly.

Beckett handed Colette the bag of food that the otter had given them. "Here," he said, "Chloe said to give these to you."

"Oh! Why thank you, you dear thing!" Before Beckett could stop her, Colette swept him into a hug. She finally released him – much to the squirrel's lungs' relief – and turned back to Akash. "But you were so brave!" she exclaimed, "Why, you could've gotten yourself killed!"

Akash mumbled something under his breath as he blushed.

"What were those vermin doing at your house?" Beth turned as she asked Colette. "Where did they come from?"

"They came day before yesterday. They said they would slit my throat if I didn't do as they told me…" As the unpleasant memories came back to Colette, she began to tremble. "I…I didn't know what to do."

Beth patted Colette's paw as the vole sobbed out the rest of the story.

"I don't know where they came from. I just thought for sure I was as good as dead. And I probably would've been if you all hadn't shown up." She sniffed quietly.

"There, there." Beckett surprised them all by pulling out a sky-blue pocket hanker-chief from his sleeve and passing it to the crying vole. It was decorated with white swirls embroidered around the edges, and the silhouette of daffodil flower on the center. "Here, blow."

_Heh, _Beth inwardly shook her head and grinned, _I can only imagine where he got that. _

Colette accepted it and blew her nose. She gave the squirrel a faint smile. "Oh, thank you. You're such a polite, thoughtful, young lad."

"Did _you _make that, Beckett? I didn't know you were good with a needle." Beth raised her eyebrow.

"I'm not." Beckett shrugged. "I found that…somewhere." His voice trailed off uncertainly. "Ahem, anyway, where were we?"

Beth wondered just how many things Beckett had "found" and never bothered to look for the owner. Her mind flashed back to how pampered she had been her whole life, with her father and the moles to look out for her. Beckett on the other paw… He had had no one – until now. Beth decided that from now on, he'd be her unofficially adopted little brother.

"I don't know if you should be living out here all by yourself." Akash's eyebrows were creased in thoughtful look. "Maybe you could stay with the otter family. They're not too far from here."

"Oh, no. It would take a lot more than a few vermin and crows to make me leave." Colette brushed imaginary wrinkles from her tunic. "I doubt those vermin will come back here after the lesson you taught them, anyway."

"Perhaps…" Akash agreed, although not entirely convinced. "We must be on our way back to my place before it gets too dark. I was thinking though, I might come again tomorrow and bring some flour to the otter family." The two voles shared a long look. "I could come by your place again and make sure everything's alright."

"That would nice." Colette smiled. "Although it probably isn't necessary."

"I'll stop by anyways." Akash nodded. "Besides, I doubt we've seen the last of those birds."


	5. Chapter 5

**VERMIN CAMP**

Two large black birds landed on a low tree limb. They were both panting and seemed out of breath. The crow scouts had reached the outer part of their camp. The band of thieves had been staying in this forest for a few seasons now, terrorizing and robbing from the local villagers and passing travelers. The gang consisted of rats and crows.

The larger of the two crows huffed to his companion, pecking at a nearby butterfly. "Craw! Let me do the talking when we report back, Pierce." He was missing a claw from his right talon, and there was a white scar that ran down his neck. He had obviously been in a lot of fights… and hadn't necessarily won all of them unscathed. "I don't want Uncle Spike to know that we were run off by some measly old vole."

Pierce, the considerably less bright creature out of the entire vermin gang, cawed loudly, "Spike's not gonna like that, Melvin. How are you going to tell him without getting us punished?"

"He won't have to know about it if you just hush up and follow along with what I say." Melvin glared back at him.

Flying from their perch, the crows swooped down to the large aspen tree where Spike had made his nest.

He had just woken up from a nap, and was surveying his group with a scowl. The vermin below him – unaware of their master's gaze – were pulling straws to see who would be the unlucky beast in charge of cooking the evening meal.

"No fair!" The rat who had pulled the short straw protested. "I cooked lunch already!"

There was a whoosh of air as Spike landed behind the complaining rat. "Well you'll do it again!" Spike bellowed, towering over the smaller vermin. "And if you don't, I might have them cook _you _instead! Got that?"

"Yes, Spike!" The rat gulped fearfully as he backed away, trembling. "I'll get to it right away!"

A wry grin spread on Spike's face as he turned away. He blinked with surprise as he saw the two scouts flying into the camp.

"Ah. Good. Pierce and Melvin should have brought some fresh vittles for us to eat." He dipped his head to his nephews – who threw nervous glanced to each other when they heard his words.

The black crows dipped their heads submissively as Spike came forward, his eyes narrowing when he saw that hadn't brought anything with them.

"You _did _find food, did you not? And where are the others?"

Melvin couldn't bear to meet his leader's hard gaze. "We were attacked, Spike. The others… They were killed. We fought as long as we could. We were lucky to escape with our own lives."

"We sure was, boss," Pierce nodded hastily in agreement. "There was no way we could've defeated that old vole archer. We was lucky indeed."

Melvin seethed inwardly as he realized it was too late to undo what Pierce had said. A cold chill ran through him as Spike's words flew out in rage.

"You mean to tell me that all of you were defeated by _one, single, solitary _vole?! You call that lucky?!"

Spike swung his claws down on Melvin's shoulder, pinning the other crow to the ground. "I'll tell you what's luck! You're lucky that I don't finish the two of you off right now!"

Pierce slowly stepped back as all eyes of his fellow vermin were intensely watching the unfolding scene. "H-He wasn't alone boss." He stammered quickly. "There was a badger with him too!"

"A badger, eh?" Spike quickly released his hold on Melvin – who collapsed to the ground, whimpering in pain. "Well, why didn't you say that before, Pierce?" Spike's voice turned dangerously sweet. "A badger is quite an interesting creature, you see. I've heard that nearly all of them have a secret stash of gold hidden somewhere. They are like magnets for treasure."

"Does that mean no more mush for us?" The rat chosen for dinner duty grinned.

Spike smirked and nodded. "Indeed, it does."

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**AKASH'S COTTAGE:**

"What's that?"

Akash carefully set a small, woven, sewing basket on the center of the wood table and lifted the blue lid. "This," he took out a small needle, "is my sewing kit."

Beth turned from where she had just finished washing the dinner plates, and sat down opposite of the table from the old vole.

Since early dawn, there had been a slight drizzle outside the cozy cabin, and now, the drops were beginning to come down with more speed and volume. The thunder would rumble, seemingly making the house shake.

Akash took out small thimble and continued, "I've found that knowing how to use a needle and thread can be quite handy sometimes. So, since it doesn't look like this rain will let up for a while, I thought now would be a good time to teach you both some."

"I've knitted a pair of socks before." Beckett sat up proudly. "They were pretty good, if I do say so myself."

"I bet they were." Akash smiled as he continued pulling things from his sewing kit. "Although, Becket, I was hoping maybe this time I could show you how to cook something. How about some potato soup?"

"Oh. Sounds good to me!" Beth agreed. "What should I do first?"

"Alright then. Let's see…" Akash tapped his chin. "I'm afraid the potatoes are out in the shed. Hmm… I guess ee might have to wait until this rain let's up."

"Well, I'm starved!" Beckett jumped up from the table and grabbed a small blanket to use as a cloak. "Don't worry, I'll run out and get some."

The sound of thrumming rain increased after the squirrel left and shut the door behind him.

"Hope he doesn't get my blanket soaked." Akash chuckled. "Well," the vole went over to a wooden box in the corner of the room and brought back some folds of material. "What would you like to start with, Beth?"

"I like this one." The young badger fingered some dark blue material in her big paws. "I'd like to make something for Beckett. His tunic seems light, which is probably fine for now, but come winter, he might freeze. I don't know how harsh the winters are here, but back in the mountains where I came from, they were _very _cold."

"Aye. Here too," Akash nodded. "How about a jerkin? I think that would be a good thing for you to start with."

He used a pair of scissors to cut and shape the basic layout for the jerkin for her then handed her the dark blue fabric.

The elderly vole chose some red cloth for his own project and began threading his needle.

"Er…" Beth looked hesitantly to the needle she was expected to thread then back to her large paws. "I've never done much sewing before…"

'_Not much' as in practically never, _she thought.

"Oh, that's quite alright." Akash began pulling the needle in and out of his red material. "I'll help you along. First, you start with threading your needle."

Seeing that Akash had licked the end of his thread before attempting to put it through the needle's eye, she picked up the tiny, sharp object, licked her thread as she squinted her eyes, then tried to get the thread through.

After her fourth attempt with still no success, Beth jerked her head abruptly and let out an exasperated sigh. "I can't do this! My paws are too big!" She glanced at Akash and for a minute she thought he had an amused smile on his face, but before she could be certain that it had been there, it disappeared.

"Ahem. Yes, well… It takes practice." He took the needle as she handed it to him and threaded it for her. "Like I said, it just takes practice – like a good many thing in life." He smiled.

A lightning streak flashed as Beckett returned from the shed and closed the door behind him. "Brr! This rain is bringing some cold weather along with it!"

"Yes," Akash continued skillfully hemming the edges of the crimson material. "It shouldn't be too long before the weather takes a turn for the worse."

"Dang it all," Beth shouted in frustration as she pricked herself with the needle. Hastily she put the paw in her mouth and sucked the wound. "Why is the stupid thing so small?"

"You poke yourself with the needle?" Beckett nodded knowingly as he laid the potatoes on the counter. "I must've pricked myself a hundred times before I realized how handy thimbles are!"

"That's one of the good things about being a badger," Beth grumbled, "No thimbles fit your fingers." She resumed her sewing again, the tip of her tongue sticking out of her mouth – She didn't know why, but it always seemed to help her concentrate better.

"Huh, I never thought of that." Beckett began slicing the peels off the brown vegetables. "How many potatoes do you reckon we'll need, Akash?"

"I'd say around half a score would be alright." The elderly vole motioned to a rugged sack. "There are some carrots, onions, and celery in there. That should make for a real tasty soup."

"Ouch!"

The squirrel and vole looked back at Beth again – who was waving her paw up and down to relieve the pain.

"Try and grip your needle firmly," Akash leaned over to rearrange her grasp on the needle. "Like this."

Beth took a deep breath. She was determined to learn this if it killed her. _At this rate… _She glanced down at her pricked paws, _It just might._

"You might want to try to steady your breathing while you do it," The elderly vole added, returning to his own sewing. "It tends to help a bit."

Giving him a sideways glance, Beth said, "Well if my paws were as tiny as yours, I'd find sewing a lot easier."

Akash continued rocking in his chair. "Anybeast can find an excuse for something they wish to give up on."

Beth felt her ears burn red as she fell silent. Just who did this vole think he was?

Beckett shot a look at the badger then turned back to the potatoes, trying to pretend like he was intently fixed on his own work.

_I'll show Akash just determined I can be! _Beth stabbed the needle into her fabric again, only to find that her paw had been right beneath it and she had impaled it again. This time she bit her lip as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

Instead of stopping, she let out a deep breath and then tried again, this time managing to do it without hurting herself. Akash noted her effort with an approving nod.

"Well," Becket put the potatoes in a large black pot and filled it halfway with water. "I think I'm going to make some biscuits to go along with the soup." He rubbed his paws together. "I didn't think cooking was going to be this easy!"

"There's a cooking book in the cupboard." Akash stifled a yawn. "It has a recipe for biscuits in there."

"Aye-aye!" Beckett saluted. "I'm on it!"

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A while later, the rain stopped and the darkness of night fell over the land. Now that Beckett had announced that the food was ready, the badger and vole sat down on the wooden benches by the table, and waited patiently as he carried two, steaming, hot bowls of soup to them.

Akash inhaled the scent deeply. "This smells delicious, Beckett."

Beth nodded in agreement. She could hardly wait to taste the steaming broth. The bright color of the carrots added a colorful touch, and the potatoes looked as if they would melt once they got in her mouth. After Akash had said a prayer of thanksgiving, they dug in with gusto.

"Mm!" Beth took a bite. "Beckett, you can cook for me anytime!" She laughed, scooping more soup with her small spoon.

Beckett looked around modestly. "Oh shucks. There's nothing to it." The young squirrel's nose twitched as he sniffed. "Ah! That should be the biscuits." He pulled them from the oven, revealing a tray of ten lightly-browned biscuits.

Beth could barely wait to sink her teeth into one of them… or maybe five.

"Hopefully they'll cool soon." Beckett smiled happily. "They sure look good. I put extra sugar in, so they should be!"

Scoffing down the rest of the stew, Beth kept an eye on the biscuits. "I think they are cool enough now." She looked toward the squirrel.

"Yes, I agree." He jumped up and brought them on a plate to the table.

The badger snatched one of the soft, round-shaped biscuits with her paw. She could barely wait to taste it, but restricted herself until Beckett had gotten one as well. Once he had taken a large bite from his, she popped the whole thing in her mouth.

Her eyes bulged open. Spitting the food from her mouth, she jumped from her seat to where there was a basin filled with water and began drinking as much as she could, trying to remove the taste from her mouth.

Beckett speedily followed, gulping down a large glass of water.

"What is the matter with you two?" Akash watched as they coughed and then continued drinking again. "What did you put in those biscuits, Beckett?"

Beckett pointed to the jars on the counter. "Just flour, water, and sugar!"

"Sugar?" Akash walked over and looked in the jar. "This isn't where I keep the sugar. This is where I keep the salt."

Beckett's jaw dropped open as he stared at the vole.

Slowly, Akash's shoulders began to shake and a grin spread over his face as a deep laugh rumbled out of him.

Beth saw the incredulous look on Beckett's face and couldn't help herself as she let out a bark of laughter that sounded more like a snort then anything.

Finally, last but not least, Beckett's mouth turned into a smile as he laughed along with them.

**Author note/ Happy New Year! (Well almost;) ) I hope you all liked the chapter and have a great year!:)**


	6. Chapter 6

The next two days swiftly rolled by for the three of them. The rain that had persisted off and on throughout the valley had not done anything to slow Akash from finding projects for Beth and Beckett to do.

They accomplished many small tasks, from washing windows or sewing, to larger tasks, such as building shelves for Akash's vegetables to be used as storage. Sometimes, the vole would read aloud to them while they worked, but what Beth liked most of all was when he would tell them both stories of his adventures during his youth. Though, she had to admit, she was a little skeptical of some of them at first.

This morning, the earth looked bright and sunny. The rain had finally moved on. Warm rays shone down on them and the ground was firm beneath their paws as the badger and vole stood together deep in the forest behind Akash's house.

Beth squared her shoulders and squinted hard as she tried to bring her focus on the thick bough of a walnut tree. The tree was a couple yards in front of her. She felt her paws sweating as she gripped the hard black handle of one of Akash's throwing knives.

"Just remember," Akash was saying, "when you release your hold," Akash's arm motioned slowly with precision as he pretended to throw an imaginary knife, "your paw must be in direct line with your target."

The badger nodded, letting out a small breath as she took a step forward. Beth grunted as she threw the knife at her target. It landed with a satisfying thud deep in the tree's bark.

"Hmm… Not bad." Akash gave her a sideways glance, then looked back to where she had thrown the dagger. "I must say, you seem to have a knack with throwing that thing."

Beth scoffed. It certainly didn't seem that way to her. She had been practicing long before breakfast. It was only after countless times of missing, and having to go search the forest floor for her weapon, that she finally managed to finally hit her target with some-what accuracy.

Akash called over to Beckett, who had been cutting pieces of wood from a nearby fallen tree. Akash had found the fallen tree, and had decided not to let it go to waste. That was why he had decided to move Beth's knife throwing practice so deep into the woods. The squirrel indicated that he had heard Akash's cry.

"Coming!"

Beth smiled as she watched Beckett hurry over. She felt a light gust of wind blow across her face. The two companions had certainly learned a lot from their stay with Akash. She felt more confident in her abilities. She wasn't the same clumsy beast she had been when she and Beckett had first arrived.

"You know, Akash," Beckett huffed once he reached them, "I've decided I actually don't mind cutting firewood anymore!"

Akash raised an eyebrow as he tried to keep from grinning. "Is that a fact?"

"Yep! Look at this!" He flexed his small arm muscles proudly, giving his small bicep a kiss. Beth rolled her eyes. "I feel as fit as a rabbit!" Beckett added.

Beth chuckled. His arms weren't the only thing that had grown. With the big meals that they had been eating, Beckett looked nothing like the scrawny squirrel that she had first met in the woods. She watched Beckett bob and bounce around Akash.

"Hey, Akash, let's have an arm wrestle!" Beckett said.

"Are you challenging me, fuzzbrain?"

Beckett, seeing the delighted light that sparked in the vole's eyes, gulped, and quickly changed the subject, "So, how's your knife practice been going, Beth?"

"I think I'm getting better! Hopefully it won't take me too long to figure it all out."

Akash slapped his paws together, and leaned back as he stretched his sore neck muscles. "Aaaah," he sighed. "I think I'll go up to the house and start lunch. Beth, I want you to show what I taught you to Beckett."

"Er, are you sure that's a good idea," the badger looked toward the squirrel then back to Akash. "Maybe you should do it. I don't think I'm qualified to teach yet. I'm certainly not a professional or anything."

"You're right, you're not professional." Akash winked. "However, teaching will improve your own skills, and it should also teach you patience." With that, the old vole walked off toward the house.

Beckett shrugged his shoulders as she looked at him. "Alright, I guess we'll see how this goes."

000000000000000

Akash finished preparing some bread and had left it to rise while he went to the well to fetch some water. Akash smiled to himself, shouldering his bow and arrow quiver onto his back. Once he fetched the water, he was thinking about teaching Beckett a bit of archery – unless, of course, the squirrel would prefer to learn blade throwing a bit more.

"Those two certainly are something," he murmured as he began lowering the bucket into the well. Drawing it back up, he set it on the brick wall.

A large shadow suddenly cast itself over him. Turning quickly, Akash caught a glimpse of a large black crow swooping down on him up above. The vole reached for an arrow, set it on his bow's string, and released it in the blink of an eye.

The bird staggered as it was hit in the neck by the arrow. As it swayed, two more crows appeared, along with a number a vermin running out from where they had been hidden in the foliage.

"Pierce!" one of the crows yelled, "Uncle Spike said for you to wait until we saw the badger, you idiot! Craaaw!" But Melvin had reached his cousin too late. Pierce plummeted down, his body hitting the earth in a cloud of feathers.

Shooting at a charging vermin, Akash began to notch an arrow for another shot before was knocked flat on his back, his weapons falling out of his reach. The vermin leader, Spike, tightened his massive talons around the vole's neck.

"I'll make you regret releasing that arrow at Pierce, you filthy earth-crawler!" Spike cawed, his eyes narrowed into slits as he watched the vole struggling beneath him. "Check the house and barn!" he shouted to his rats. "That badger is around here someplace. Don't let her get away!"

The rats ran into the house, breaking dishes and throwing down shelves.

Akash kicked as he fought for air. His vision swayed as he stared up at the towering, shadowy figure of the crow. "They're… not here!" he rasped out, "They… left days ago!"

"Shut up, earth-crawler!" The crow snapped, his claws gouging bloody marks into the vole's chest. Using his talon, he snatched an arrow that had fallen from Akash's quiver. "They'll never be able to hide from me!" He plunged it into Akash's side.

Just then a voice sounded from behind Spike's back.

"Get out of here!"

While Spike had been gloated, he had failed to notice Beth as she had come running out from amongst the thick trees. She had gone back toward the house to ask Akash a question, when she had caught sight of the vermin. Before the crow even had time to blink, Beth slammed into him, shoving him off of Akash.

Akash gratefully sucked in fresh air. "Beth…" he coughed out weakly the fell unconscious.

"Well, well, well." Spike sneered as he regained his footing. "Here you are. Surrender now, and it'll make it easier on you and your friends. I know a beast who'd pay a handsome price for a badger such as yourself."

"Do you, now?" Beth's gaze hardened, her eyes turning light pink. "It's a pity I'll never meet him!"

Spike cawed and flew into the air. Circling back, he dropped from the sky, his claws outstretched.

Beth roared with pain as his talons tore at the flesh on her shoulder. Grabbing one of the crow's legs, she managed to fling the bird away.

The other vermin had been too busy ransacking the house and the barn that they hadn't heard the sounds of Beth and Spike fighting over the din. However, Melvin had caught sight of the ensuing struggle, and had called out to the rats.

"Craw! There's the badger beast! Get her!"

Beth shook her head as feathers got into her eyes. Spike buffeted her in the face with his wing, and spiraled back up into the sky, diving down again on Beth.

As the badger was distracted, Melvin came up from behind Beth. He was suddenly tackled from behind.

"Aaaaarrrrggg!" Beckett roared, "You leave my friends alone!"

"Stupid squirrel!" Melvin swatted Beckett aside with his wing.

The woodlander pulled his knife out from his belt and threw it. By luck more than skill, the weapon hit the crow right in the neck. Melvin gurgled as he clutched the knife. His eyes closed and he crumpled down to the ground.

Spike snarled. Raising a talon, he prepared to swipe at the badger's eyes.

Beckett reached out a paw as he called to her, "Beth, watch out!"

It was as if time stood still for the badger. Beckett was yelling something at her, she knew, but his voice was but a faint echo. She could see Spike's claw coming toward her face slowly, almost as if in a dream. Suddenly, memories began to flash before her eyes: Of her and Beckett's first time meeting; their journey, when they found Akash; all the important memories that they had all shared together; the smiles, the laughs, along with the feelings of anger and impatience she had felt every time she had struggled with to learn a new skill. And Akash… She remembered his limp form on the ground. What would happen to him?

The badger blinked and the moment was gone. With a familiar, precise swing she cuffed Spike on the side of his head, just a moment before he reached her. The crow went sprawling, winded by the force of the blow. Beth knew that the motion had been the same technique Akash had showed her when she was fishing.

As Spike scrabbled back, the other seven vermin had summoned their courage and began to attack Beth all at once.

"Get her!" Spike screamed. "Get that badger!"

The badger grunted as she dodged a thrust from one of the spears, her steps smooth and coordinated. She grabbed one of the rats be the throat and swung him into two of his companions. The other bandits tried to stay out of her reach. Instead, they tried to use their spears and blades to bring her down.

"Beth! Over here!"

In the midst of the fighting Beckett had scurried to the shadow of the barn. Beth looked over and saw Beckett running toward her, his paws holding her large red gauntlets.

Spike also saw the squirrel. He cawed loudly, spreading out his wings. "Say goodbye to your friend!" He yelled to the badger, flying at Beckett.

"No!" Beth waved her paws wildly. "Beckett, run!" She grabbed the handle of one of the rat's spears and wrenched it from his grasp. She used it to stab or knock over anybeast that stood in her way as she tried to reach Beckett. The spear broke in her paws as she cracked it over the last vermin's head.

The squirrel's eyes widened as he saw the large crow flying towards him. He didn't need any more encouragement from Beth as he started running back to the barn. Beckett panted as he dove for the main entrance, away from Spikes' talons. Picking up a rock, she threw it at Spike.

"Hey, crow!"

The rock hit Spike on the wing. The bird fell to the ground.

That gave Beth all the time she needed. Grabbing her gauntlets which Beckett has dropped on the ground, she put them on, and smashed her fist into the crow's face, then grabbed him by the neck and twisted sharply.

Spike crumbled to the ground, never to rise again.

Beth growled at the few surviving rats. Seeing that their leader had fallen, the survivors picked themselves up and ran into the forest.

Breathing heavily, Beth stared down at the slain crow. Beckett came running out of the barn. As their gazes met, the same thought flashed through their minds.

"Akash!"


	7. Chapter 7

Beth and Beckett rushed out of the barn to where the elderly vole lay.

"Akash!" Beckett called, outpacing the badger and reaching Akash first.

The old vole's eyes flickered open. "My friends…" Akash smiled weakly at the badger's and squirrel's tear stained faces. "Thank you…for everythi-..." The vole broke off with a cough, then his eyes closed.

Beth shook her head as she bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling. "No…" She felt like something was lodged in her throat as she choked out the single word.

Dropping down to her knees, she checked his pulse. It was beating, but faintly. Scooping him up in her arms, she brought him into the vole's house. Stepping through the wreckage, she laid him down on the table. Becket ran and grabbed some blankets for him.

Akash twitched, then let out a low groan.

"Akash," Beth spoke, her voice almost in a whisper. "You're going to be okay."

The elderly vole coughed again, grimacing at the pain the arrow wound was causing.

"D-d-do you think he's dying?" Becket was wringing his paws. "He'll get better...won't he?"

"He's going to be alright. He has to be alright." Beth shook her head, tears in her eyes. "He has to."

"Argh! If only there was something we could do…" Becket growled, looking down at Akash with a worried look.

Akash's lips suddenly moved, and the two young creatures' ears pricked up. The old vole was now mumbling something and the two beasts leaned in closer to hear him.

"Colette…" He groaned. "...Cottage…"

"Wait, does he mean that old vole lady that we visited?" Beckett asked. "Why her?"

"We may not be able to help him, but maybe she can!" Suddenly, Beth picked up Akash's body, which looked considerably small in the badger's paws. "We have to take him to her cottage!"

She began to walk swiftly toward the door, careful to not jostle Akash's side, where the broken arrow shaft still stuck out. "Grab some bandages and the herbs from the cupboards! Quickly, we have to get him to her, before it's too late!"

"O-okay! I'm on it! I'll grab the stuff and catch up!"

Beth's heart was pounding as she half-ran half-jogged through the forest. She pushed herself harder and picked up the pace. Collette was their only hope. She couldn't slow down, no matter how much her body wanted her too. She would run until she dropped.

Thoughts ran unbidden through her mind; memories of Akash and his kindness, how he'd saved them from the vermin and taken them into his home. Feeling exhausted from the fight with the crows and rats earlier, Beth felt as if her lungs were about to burst.

"Beth…"

The badger glanced down with shock. Akash's eyes were full of pain.

"It's going to be okay, Akash," Beth said between pants of breath. "We're almost there, you just have to hold on a little longer!"

After what seemed like an eternity, Collette's small cottage came into view. Even now, Beth couldn't help but wonder if she would make it, and wouldn't collapse only a few feet away from her destination. It would all be for nothing if the old female vole couldn't help Akash. Beth hadn't any more time for doubts before she finally reached the front door. Not bothering to knock, she awkwardly grabbed the handle and half-opened half-barged into the hut.

Collette was sitting in her rocking chair. "What in the world!" The vole screamed, quickly setting down the handkerchief she had been embroidering, and pattered as swiftly as she could to the badger's side.

"Crows and vermin! One of them stabbed Akash with an arrow! He- he'll die without help!"

"Set him down here," Collette indicated to one of her long cushioned benches.

Beth's head was pounding, and once she had laid Akash down, her knees buckled and she slowly dropped to the floor. Through her blurry vision, she could see Collette grabbing some herbs from her cabinets, and setting a pot of water to boil.

The female vole began inspecting the wound, turning away to mash some herbs into a paste.

The vole pursed her lips as she began to lift some of the herbal mixture onto Akash's mouth. The vole had pried Akash's jaw open gently to make him swallow the medicine. The old vole seemed a totally different beast from when they had seen her last. Her movements now were coordinated and precise, with no sign of frailty. Beth could tell that this wasn't the first time she had done something like this.

The badger blinked as she blurrily saw Beckett arrive at the cottage door, panting hard, his face red.

"Is he alright? Beth?"

His voice seemed to come from far away. Suddenly, Beth felt her body go limp as the world around her darkened. She had done everything for Akash that she possibly could. Her eyes closed, and she faded out of consciousness completely.

000000000000000

"Hey, Colette, I think she's coming to!"

Beth opened her eyes to see Beckett's face only a foot away from her own, concern evident on his face.

"What happened?" The badger instantly lifted a paw to her forehead, where she felt a damp cloth.

"I think you blacked out from exhaustion or something," Beckett said. "You've been asleep for a while now."

Beth sat up, catching sight of Akash -with a thick layer of white bandages around his chest- lying on a small wooden bed in the corner of the room.

"How's he been doing?" Beth asked, standing up. How could she have been sleeping at a time like this?

"Shh." Beckett brought a finger to his lips in a motion for her to keep her voice low. "He's sleeping too."

"I believe he's over the worst of it now, dearie," Collette's voice sounded thoughtful as she came up from her cellar. "I must admit, he gave us quite a scare though. If you hadn't brought him so fast, I don't know if he would've stood a chance."

Beth sighed, relieved that Akash was alright. She sniffed the air abruptly as her nose caught a whiff of a wonderful smelling aroma filling the house. "Mmm, what's that smell?"

"I made up the recipe myself." Beckett puffed out his chest proudly. "It's a super secret special soup! I've been working on it since forever! With my super secret special soup, Akash will be better in only a matter of days." He nodded with a satisfied smile. "Besides, now that Akash is going to be alright, I thought we should celebrate!"

"Let's just hope your soup is a little less salty than the biscuits you made last time." Beth smiled, winking.

"Ahem, yes, well..." The squirrel coughed. "This is going to be nothing like that. Because, unlike the biscuits, I have even given this soup's recipe a name so that it'll be able to go down in history as the best tasting soup in all the lands!"

The badger raised an eyebrow, her interest peaked, she took the soup as the squirrel handed it to her a bowl. "And just what is this spectacular name?" She took a bite, giving a satisfied grunt at the taste.

"'_Chef Beckett's remedy to spoon your way to health_!' Isn't that a great name? I thought it might be too short though… What do you think?"

"That…," The badger tried to hide the growing grin on her face. "...Well, you'd certainly get me to buy it," she said, scooping herself another biteful.

Hearing a cough from Akash's direction, the three pairs of eyes flickered anxiously toward the vole, and then the three of them were in a mad rush to reach his side.

"Did you say something, Akash?" Beckett asked, reaching the foot of the bed first.

Colette wiped her paws on her apron before quickly putting a paw to Akash's forehead to check his temperature.

Akash opened his eyes slowly as if the light was too much for them to bear. "What's this I hear about some soup?" His lips turned into a weak grin.

Sighs of relief echoed around his bedside.

"Soup!" Colette shooed Beckett off towards the kitchen. "He needs soup! Quick, Beckett, go fetch a bowl, I'll find another spoon."

Beth stooped beside Akash's bed, gazing down at him, still not quite certain that he would actually be alright, and that he was finally safe.

The old vole's eyes were moist as he placed his small paw on her big one and patted it.

The badger blinked but found that she couldn't stop a small tear from trickling from her eye.

Akash squeezed her paw gently. "Thank you."

Beth smiled back at him, unable to speak. She wanted to tell him everything, about how scared she had been of losing him, but she couldn't think of the right words.

Akash simply nodded understandingly, then smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

**THREE WEEKS LATER**

"Come on! Come on! Hurry up, Akash!"

"Ouch!" The old vole cried as his footpaw stubbed against a sharp rock. "Well maybe I could hurry if you would take this darn cloth off my eyes so I could see, instead of having me blunder around blind!"

"We're almost there," Beth said, as she tried her best not to laugh at the sight of Beckett leading Akash by the paw.

It had been a rough few weeks for the beasts at Colette's cottage as they watched Akash get through the worst of his recovery. His fever had raged so high at times that they feared the worst. But he had managed to pull through it all with the love and support from his friends.

"Alright, Akash!" Beckett's face beamed as he released his hold on the vole's paw.

"Don't go anywhere." Beth straightened him manually towards the right. "Just sit tight."

The vole let out a sigh as he waited for a few moments to pass. Just then, Akash heard what sounded like a muffled giggle from somewhere. "Hey…" He slowly began to lift his blindfold. "What's going on here?" He blinked, then his jaw fell open with shock.

"Surprise!" The beasts called out to him with grins so wide their cheeks hurt.

Beth, Beckett, and Colette were standing in front of his house, surrounded with friends from the village. Akash was speechless as his eyes took in the sight. The last time he had been up here was when the vermin had attacked. Plundering, breaking windows, setting fire to the barn and smashing everything in their path. Now, it looked as if the badger and squirrel had built a new barn twice the size of the old one, all the windows were replaced and a fresh coat of paint had been added to the house, along with party decorations strewn everywhere.

"H-how… where? When?" Akash asked as he stumbled around in a daze as the beasts gathered around him. It only now clicked in Akash's mind that _this_ must have been what his two friends had been up to while he had been recovering from his wound.

"We sure tricked you!" Beckett laughed, slapping his knee.

"How do you like the barn, Akash?" Beth chattered eagerly. "Is it big enough for you?" she added with a wink.

Tears of joy threatened to water Akash's eyes. "It's perfect. Everything is."

The group let out a cheer so loud that it was carried throughout the surrounding forest.

Colette quickly scurried forward through the throng, holding a three tiered cake, iced with green frosting and a single lit candle set in the middle. The crowd began to sing, '_For He's a Jolly Good Vole_'.

Beth presented Akash with the cake knife. "Would you like to do the honor?"

Akash gripped the knife's handle firmly and sliced the first piece.

Once the creatures had finished singing, Akash held up a paw for their attention. "You all know I'm not one for speeches..." he began. Hearing a jabbing cough, he glared playfully at Beckett who was standing in front, and everybeast chuckled.

"I don't know what an old vole like me has ever done to deserve such wonderful friends. You'll never know how much all this means to me." He caught Beth's eye as she towered above the other creatures. "What all of you mean to me. I guess what I'm trying to say is, thank you all, for everything."

There was a small silence after his last words, then the clapping started, becoming so loud that it sounded like a herd of buffalo stampeding down a gorge.

The cheering slowly died down as Colette came and stood beside Akash. The old vole gently grabbed her paw in his and she whispered something quietly in his ear.

"And while you all have surprised me today, I have a little surprise for you too. I have asked Colette to be my wife and she said yes!"

Beth and Beckett glanced at each other while clapping their paws, a glimmering twinkle in their eyes. Akash may have surprised some of them with his announcement, but they both knew it was only a matter of time before it happened, and they weren't the only ones. Apparently to most beasts his proposal had been long overdue.

"Well it was about time!" a beast spoke, slapping Akash proudly on the back.

Once everyone had offered their congratulations to the happy couple, they began to pass out pieces of cake to the beasts around them. Some of the otters there had brought some musical instruments and struck up some lively tunes to which everybeast started dancing to.

Beth gazed from the sidelines, tapping her footpaw to the beat of the music. She couldn't help but smirk as she saw Beckett dancing a jig in the middle of the dancing circle. She also saw Colette and Akash chuckle at the sight from where they were dancing.

Realizing that everyone was preoccupied and enjoying themselves, the badger slipped off quietly with her haversack and her broadsword to go stand by the river, away from the party._ It makes a pretty picture_, she thought, _the sight of so many beasts happy and laughing_.

She sat down on a log and stared into the water. As she watched it flow by, her thoughts drifted. Akash and Colette seemed happy now, Beckett too. The young squirrel had finally found a place that he could call home. _Home…_She couldn't help thinking back to the mountain from where she had grown. She wondered how her father and the moles were doing, and if they even missed her. The badger let out a deep sigh.

"It sure is a beautiful night, is it not?"

Beth jumped slightly, startled by Akash's voice. "Oh, yes, it's very beautiful. I thought you would be enjoying the party."

The old vole sat down beside the badger and looked towards the river. They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, listening to the water flowing and the occasional cricket chirping.

"It seems like yesterday when I taught you to fish in this stream."

Beth smiled fondly at the memory. "I thought it would be impossible for me to learn."

A fish jumped up from the water then splashed quickly back to down.

"I've sensed something in you, Beth." Akash turned to look at her now. "From the first time I saw you, I knew you were special."

The badger looked down at her big paws. "Ever since I was little I've wanted to go on an adventure, to find out what the world has in store for me." She let out a deep breath. "I don't know…"

"You are destined for greatness, Beth." Akash placed a paw on her arm. "That is why I know that I can't stop you from leaving here."

The badger abruptly looked up from the ground to meet his gaze. "How did you know?"

Akash raised an eyebrow, a half smile forming. "I told you, I can just sense things."

Beth blinked, relieved that he had known her feelings before she had even brought them to light herself. Sadness slowly crept into her as she knew that this would be goodbye. "I wanted to stay here, with you and Beckett… It's just that I feel a restlessness stirring within me, that I haven't fulfilled whatever it is I'm supposed to do."

"I understand." The vole tapped her arm lightly. "Don't you think Beckett will want to go with you too? I think the choice should be his."

Beth felt tears starting to run down her cheeks. "He seems so happy here, I don't want to change that, especially after all he's been through. I don't think I have the courage enough to say goodbye." She sniffed. "I should leave now."

Akash stood up and hugged the badger, his tiptoes barely touching the ground even though she was still sitting.

"Goodbye, thank you for everything," she whispered.

As she slowly got up and stood back, she could see in the night's darkness that Akash was crying too.

"I'm honored to have known you, Beth. I know you are going to do great things."

"Will I ever see you again?" Beth felt something catch in her throat.

Akash looked back one last time. "One may never know what the future holds."

Beth watched until as he slowly plodded back to the party. After that, she turned and began walking through the forest, tears stinging her eyes.

She slowed down to a stop as she heard a creature calling out her name.

"Beth! Beth, wait for me!"

Turning, she saw Beckett running through the trees, a haversack slung over in his shoulders.

"Beckett, what are you doing here?" she sniffed, trying to hide her tears.

"What do you mean '_what am I doing here_'?" He scoffed, "I'm coming with you, of course! You don't think you can get rid of me that eas-"

The last of his words was cut off as he was winded by the badger's tight hug. Once he had been set down, he smoothed his head fur and murmured. "Yeah, well," His eyes were moist now as well. "You're my family, we're in this together, for better or for worse."

Beth's heart lifted at the thought of not having to leave wonderful Beckett behind. "Yes," she spoke softly. "We're family."

High above the night sky the moon shone down on the two beasts as they laughed and walked happily through the forest.

_**THE END**_

**Author Note/ Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and review this story! I've really come to like all these characters and they were fun to write. I hope you enjoyed them as well!:) **


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